Technical Field
This application relates generally to mobile networks, to the detection of congestion in such networks, and to content delivery to mobile client devices in such networks.
Brief Description of the Related Art
Sometimes a mobile network becomes congested with network traffic. The congestion often affects a subset of end-user mobile devices, for example those that are connected to a given radio cell of the radio access network. Congestion might also occur at deeper layers in the network, such as in the evolved packet core (EPC). When a mobile network—or a particular portion thereof—is congested, it may be undesirable to send content to currently affected end-user mobile devices. It is also undesirable for the affected mobile device to request content at that time, if possible.
It is known to actively test for congestion in a given communication channel by sending data down that channel, and analyzing the results of the test data transfer. This kind of testing can be useful if one does not want to, or have access to, passive monitoring for the channel. However, such active testing potentially adds to network congestion.
The teaching hereof address the problem of congestion in mobile networks and delivery of content in non-congested conditions. They provide improved technical systems and methods for assessing and detecting network congestion. The teachings herein address these needs and also provide other benefits and improvements that will become apparent in view of this disclosure.